Hari Haraye Namah

Translation:

(1) O Lord Hari, O Lord Krishna, I offer my obeisances to You, who are known as Hari, Yadava, Madhava,
and Kesava.

(2) O Gopala, Govinda, Rama, Sri Madhusudana, Giridhari Gopinatha, and Madana-mohana!

(3) All glories to Sri Caitanya and Nityananda! All glories to Sri Advaita Acarya and His consort, Sri
Sita Thakurani. All glories to Lord Hari, to the spiritual master, the Vaishnavas, Srimad-Bhagavatam, and
Srimad Bhagavad-Gita.

(4) All glories to Sri Rupa Gosvami, Sanatana Gosvami, Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami, Sri Jiva Gosvami,
Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, and Raghunatha dasa Gosvami.

(5) I offer my obeisances to the feet of these six Gosvamis. By bowing to them, all obstacles to devotion
are destroyed and all spiritual desires are fulfilled.

(6) I am the servant of that person who is a servant of these six Gosvamis. The dust of their lotus feet is my
five kinds of foodstuffs.

(7) This is my desire: that birth after birth I may live with those devotees who serve the lotus feet of these
six Gosvamis.

(8) When these six Gosvamis lived in Vraja they revealed the lost holy places and explained the eternal
pastimes of Radha and Krishna.

(9) Just shout the names of Lord Hari in great ecstasy and worship the transcendental realm of Vrindavana
while absorbing your mind in meditation upon the divine feet of the spiritual master and the Vaishnavas.

(10) Desiring to serve the lotus feet of Sri Guru and the Vaishnavas, Narottama dasa sings this sankirtana of
the holy names of Lord Hari.

Purport
by His Divine Grace
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

This song of Srila Narottama Dasa Thakura is very famous among devotees in Bengal and Orissa. When
Lord Caitanya returned from Gaya, where He was initiated by Sri Isvara Puri, He was completely transformed
into a God-intoxicated personality whom His students of grammar had never known before. Instead of
teaching ordinary grammar studies, Lord Caitanya explained every sentence in such a way that every
Sanskrit word and every letter was understood to indicate Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This
form of grammar was later on developed by Srila Jiva Gosvami in a book called Hari-namamrita-vyakarana,
The Grammar of the Nectar and Name of Sri Hari. But Lord Caitanya’s students thought that their teacher
had become mad, and they rubbed His head with Vishnu oil, an oil that cools the brain. Finally they asked
Him, “You say that everything means Krishna and we should ultimately always be chanting the names of Krishna.
Just how should we do this?” Then Lord Caitanya began to sing the names of Krishna and clap His hands, and
He began His nama-sankirtana movement. The names He sang are the first two lines of this song, and
Narottama Dasa Thakura and others have placed these names in the beginning of their writings to
immortalize these events in the memory of everyone.
Narottama Dasa Thakura chants the names of Lord Caitanya, Nityananda, Sri Advaita and Sita (Lord
Advaita’s consort). Since Lord Hari, the spiritual master, and the Srimad Bhagavad-gita are all on
the transcendental platform, they are given the same respect. Then Srila Narottama Dasa chants the names of
the six Gosvamis. “I offer my obeisances at their feet,” he sings, “which destroy sufferings accumulated over
many long years. I am the servant of these six Gosvamis, and the dust of their lotus feet is my five kinds
of foodstuffs. To serve their lotus feet and keep the association of devotees is my only business, birth after
birth.” When the six Gosvamis were staying at Vrindavana, they revealed the eternal transcendental pastimes of
Sri Sri Radha-Krishna. Before Lord Caitanya the exact location of the places of Lord Krishna’s pastimes were
not known, and therefore Lord Caitanya instructed the Gosvamis to uncover the holy places and
construct temples. The temple of Sri Radha Damodara is situated near the location of the rasa dance, and
Srila Rupa Gosvami and the other Gosvamis used to gather there and discuss the topics of their literatures,
which scientifically explained the super-excellent pastimes of Sri Sri Radha-Krishna. Narottama Dasa Thakura
says, “In great ecstasy shout the name of Hari and serve the real transcendental master and devotees.”
He concludes by saying, “With all hopes in the lotus feet of my guru and the holy Vaishnavas, Narottama Dasa
sings the sankirtana of Lord Hari: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare.”

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